Morgan Lewis on Life Sciences
November/December 2006

In this Issue:

• The Next Wave of Wage and Hour Litigation: Pharmaceutical Product Representatives Seek Overtime:
  In recent years, class and collective actions filed under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and state wage and hour laws have swept across entire industries, including retail, insurance, and financial services. The filing of one or two high-profile or high-exposure cases has caused the plaintiffs' bar to bring a host of copycat cases against most of the major employers in these industries. Much of the recent wage and hour litigation has focused on relatively highly compensated jobs that have long been considered exempt from overtime pay, such as insurance agents, claims adjusters, loan officers, underwriters, and stockbrokers.
• Update on Parallel Trade in the European Union:
  The debate over the acceptability of the parallel trade in medicinal products in the EU has long been controversial, with lengthy battles and much money being spent by both its supporters and detractors in an attempt to defend their rights. For many years, the majority of rulings were in favor of parallel trade, but the EU pharmaceutical industry is currently more encouraged following [two] recent rulings in favor of GlaxoSmithKline’s (GSK’s) steps to prevent parallel trade, which have given the industry hope that the EU’s position on parallel trade may be about to turn in their favor.
• Events, Speeches, and Articles

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